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Sectional wrestling tourneys to begin

BARNESVILLE — The Road to Columbus and the 83rd annual Ohio state wrestling tournament begins Saturday at four different sites for wrestlers in the eastern district.

Action begins at 10 a.m. at all four sites. Division II schools will head to Claymont High School in Uhrichsville and Steubenville High School, while D-III schools will venture to Barnesville and Sandy Valley high schools. The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to district competition on March 6-7.

Eleven schools are competing at Barnesville. They include, in addition to the host Shamrocks, Beallsville, Bellaire, Bridgeport, Buckeye Local, Caldwell, Harrison Central Martins Ferry, Ridgewood, River and West Muskingum.

There are only two returning state placewinners in this sectional. They are Buckeye Local’s Brian Palmer Jr. (138), who is a two-timer on the podium, and West Muskingum’s Carter Winegardner who was 8th in 2018 at 138. The Panthers’ junior was third at 132 last winter and sixth at 120 as a freshman.

A dozen schools will compete in Magnolia. They are, in addition to the host Cardinals, Coshocton, Edison, Fort Frye, Garaway, Malvern, Newcomerstown, Shadyside, Shenandoah, Steubenville Catholic, Toronto and Tuscarawas Valley.

Coshocton senior Lucian Brink will look to go back-to-back after winning a state title at 113 last year. He was a state runnerup as a sophomore.

The Newcomerstown duo of Logan Hursey and Gavin Weaver are both two-time state placers.

The Steubenville sectional will be held in the Crimson Center and include, in addition to the host Big Red, Beaver Local, John Glenn, Maysville, Meadowbrook, Morgan, Philo, St. Clairsville, Tri-Valley, Union Local and West Holmes.

Eight returning state placewinners highlight this sectional, with Big Red and Beaver Local each having a trio.

Steubenville is led by senior Tyler Muldrew, junior David Tuttle and sophomore Ethan Pappas. Muldrew, who also qualified as a freshman at Shadyside, placed fourth at 132 last season. Tuttle has reached the podium twice, including a fourth-place showing last year at 182, while Pappas finished sixth at 160 a year ago.

The Beavers’ Cole McComas is looking to take the next step forward. The senior has been a state runnerup in his three previous trips to Columbus at 106, 113 and 126. Classmate Skyler Lasure has also placed on his three previous trips. He was sixth last year at 145; fourth in 2018 at 132 and seventh at 120 as a frosh. Logan Ours placed sixth at 120 as a freshman.

Also returning as state placers are the West Holmes duo of Tyler Masters and Cael Woods. Woods was a state runnerup last season at 113 after finishing third at 106 as a sophomore. He placed eighth at 113 in 2017. Masters was fourth last year at 120 as a junior. He finished sixth at 113 the year before.

Entered at Claymont are Cambridge, Carrollton, Dover, East Liverpool, Indian Creek, Indian Valley, Minerva, New Philadelphia, River View and Zanesville.

This sectional only has one returning state placer — that being East Liverpool junior Skyler Wooley who was fifth at 220 last winter.

The Division II district tournament will also be held in Uhrichsville, while D-III will head to Heath High School. The state tournament will be held from Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15 inside Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State University.

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